UK mobile use tops desktop and laptop usage for the first time

UK adults now spend more time on their mobile devices than traditional desktop PCs for the first time on record, according to the latest estimates to be compiled by eMarketer.

The research business calculates that adults will spend an average of 2 hours and 26 minutes online each day on their mobile this year versus just 2 hours and 13 minutes on PCs.

This follows a period of divergent growth between the two sectors in which mobile usage has surged five fold since 2011 whilst desktop and laptop devices flat line, registering year-on-year growth of just three minutes in 2015.

Bill Fisher, analyst at eMarketer, said: “One trend underlies much of eMarketer’s time spent estimates: UK adults aren’t moving their media consumption habits to digital platforms at the expense of traditional ones; rather, they are adding it to their overall media day. This also holds true for platforms like social media, with time spent via mobile adding to time spent via laptops and desktops.”

Within the mobile sector tablets are closing the gap with their smartphone counterparts, accounting for 6.8 per cent of total media time each day in 2014 and rising to 8.4 per cent this year - compared to smartphone market share of 15.8 per cent.